Ashes of Sanity
by Cosmicism
Summary: A dark imagining of the Pokemon Universe sees Ash victimised by the cruelty of fate. Now he may be the only one fit to battle the macabre horrors that turn life itself into a nightmare.
1. Lullaby - Part 1

**Ashes of Sanity**

Lullaby – Part 1

There was a truly unique beauty in a sunrise ushering in a new dawn. A simple, innate delight was easy to derive from the divine elegance of the sun slowly crowning over the horizon. But to a man who had failed to miss a sunrise in nearly a decade there was a far greater and yet baser appeal. To him the celestial body of light bravely piercing thin morning fog symbolised the very continuation of life.

Life itself is not a beautiful thing; life is death, an ugly void waiting to swallow every living thing that depends on it. The only two real absolutes governing life are contradictory in nature, that every life ends and that life as a whole always goes on. There's a certain kind of forbidden beauty found in the contrast between the two truths, it's the beauty of an electrical storm or a burning building or the duet of two swords as they cleave paths toward one another. The visual beauty of a sunrise is plain to see and appreciate, even an infant can recognise its splendour. The infant could see thousands of subtly different sunrises but most would agree that a far more powerful response would be evoked from sunrises observed while thoroughly aware that death was drawing rapidly nearer.

If death were to take a form, it would mimic the abhorrent terrors that haunt this mortal world, for they are just as illusive and yet their shadow looms just as obvious as death's. These affronts to all that is good elude conventional understanding; they can invade our settlements, our thoughts and our dreams. Although rare they represent the greatest threat to mankind that there is and as such, the living dwell in near-constant fear of them.

Purging the world of such monstrosities was an essential duty as far as the man was concerned; the need to do so was as obvious as the glaring sun he regarded. In a way though, these macabre perversions of nature make everything more beautiful with their ever-present threat, they're a dark catalyst forcing mortals to cherish their fragile time. He couldn't help but ponder; was he stealing a fraction of the beauty that mankind was capable of perceiving by eliminating the terrors? It was a strange thing to consider but years of pursuing the blights that make every sense scream _run_ makes you somewhat strange.

To those who met him, strange defined Ash. He drifted between towns looking to carry out his purpose, looking to kill monsters and he rarely visited the same one twice. No one knew him when he arrived and they were seldom given the opportunity as Ash wouldn't linger in any one place. He was a grizzled young man who appeared older than his years and carried a stoicism that bordered pure apathy, on the outside at least. His defined facial features hid behind wild stubble and an array of scars. He wore a long winter cloak consisting of thick black wool; a light dusting of snow had fallen on the fine fur that adorned the cloak's peak at his shoulders. It draped over a brown leather waistcoat, which offered modest protection. Ash's boots were of a similar but darker leather. A large, powerful looking wooden crossbow was slung over his back by its strap and equipped to his belt was a sheathed knife. Also adorning his belt were several small pouches, many containing things far more dangerous than his conventional weapons.

Whether or not solitude was something Ash desired, townspeople would not tend to approach him. Although company was not a concern, testimony regarding the creatures that he sought was of paramount importance. Children in the nearby city of Cerulean had disappeared during the recent nights, mirroring abductions in not too distant northern towns. He hadn't been able to uncover anything in the two he had visited prior to journeying south of the Cerulean Bay. When it was just a single northern town shaken by kidnappings, Ash had thought that a member of the community must have been responsible and he took leave soon after. The circumstances had made it difficult for Ash to believe that a human was capable of the crimes but he had other matters that needed pursuing despite his conflicted mind beseeching him to linger a little longer. No one had seen or heard anything night after night and child after child. But it wasn't until Ash heard the grisly reports that echoed the same circumstances in the next town that he knew for certain that the culprit was no man. Something inhuman was preying on the children of the north.

Hesitantly, Ash tore himself away from his view of the newborn sun hovering over the bay. Fishermen crossed paths with him as he walked away from the gently lapping sea; they worked long days in order to supply fresh Magikarp and Goldeen, the lifeblood of their city. Powdery snow atop the fine morning frost elicited quiet but satisfying crunches underfoot as Ash covered the short distance through the woods from the sea to the city. The trees were bare and almost skeletal, contorted into unnerving silhouettes in the fog. A plump bird with a leek stalk in its mouth observed Ash from a thick branch as he passed its nest. There wasn't much to fear from mundane animals like the bird quizzically tilting its head but Ash was considering what manner of monster might be responsible for the abductions. Either the thing was actually entering towns unseen with unnatural speed and guile or perhaps by assuming the shape of man. Perhaps it was luring the children to it from afar or employed illusions to appear invisible. However it was committing the atrocities, Ash would inevitably have to hunt and face the being.

Upon arriving at the perimeter of the city Ash regarded the citizens that busied themselves with their daily duties; the grip of fear that seized so many parents in the town was all but invisible to an outsider's eye. Ash made his way straight towards the inn at which he had spent the previous night. There he quickly ate a breakfast of bread and meat, a meal which he had previously elected to postpone in order to gaze upon the morning sunrise from a suitable viewpoint first. Ash then washed his meal down with water before setting out to look for the appropriate people to question. A look of subtle grief or suppressed worry was enough to warrant a conversation. Those he approached with the subject of missing children initially met Ash with indifference. The reaction then tended to diverge into either disdain by those believing their children were gone forever or towards gratitude that he was investigating but with a heavy overtone of hopelessness. Ash spent a large portion of his morning in this way, his success at identifying those that had suffered loss was his only real victory and eventually he begrudgingly returned to the inn for lunch without having acquired any useful leads.

He was served by a middle-aged woman with dark orange hair that he had not seen working there until now. He had resigned himself to continuing his search for useful information after a hearty lunch of fish and rice. Upon receiving his meal, Ash concluded that the city in the Cerulean Sea area certainly lived up to the culinary reputation that its fish boasted. He was already halfway through his meal before he noticed that the woman who had served him exhibited the same signs of restlessness and worry that he was looking for.

"Excuse me," Ash called out.

"Can I get you anything else, sir?" The woman replied softly, attempting to collect herself as she approached.

"The meal is superb, I couldn't ask for more. I was going to ask you about the disappearances." He manoeuvred.

The woman was doing a near-perfect job of hiding how uncomfortable the topic made her but he had already seen. "I know it's not an easy thing to talk about but I'm here to help and for me to have a chance I need to know the details." Ash declared. "Your town is not alone in this, it has to stop."

The orange-haired woman clearly found Ash's words difficult to respond to, her eyes wandered and jumped around the room aimlessly as she listened.

"Thank you stranger but we've lost five children this week, nobody has seen or heard a thing. What makes you think you could stop whatever evil has taken them?" She asked with an unsettled quality to her voice.

"I've pursued and slain horrors that I don't care to look back on for over a decade now, if anyone can put an end to this, it's me." Ash responded confidently but with sympathy. "You've lost a child to this monster yourself? Let me help you try to get them back."

The woman narrowed her eyebrows as she recoiled from Ash's assumption. "No, my daughter is here safe," she informed the wild-looking stranger. "But I'm worried to death for her."

Ash swallowed his mouthful of rice and fish as the woman explained. "My dear lady, I'm elated to hear that your daughter has not yet fallen victim but I am confident that if we do nothing, many more will." He told her bluntly with almost unnaturally static eye contact. "Perhaps her among them"

A long pause hung over the conversation as the two stared at one another until the woman finally opened her mouth to break it. "But how can I help you if I have nothing substantial to tell you?" She queried.

"Well its unfortunate that no one here seems to know any more than the other towns I've passed through." Ash said before pausing to eat the final chunk of fish that he had been saving, relishing it. "I'd appreciate you keeping a room at this inn for me as long as it takes to end this."

"Of course, whatever I can do to help you. Please just keep my girl safe." The woman begged, "Misty means everything to me."

Ash gave her a solemn nod and laid his chopsticks down on the empty plate.

"I'm Kasumi by the way," the woman said with a tiny smile of relief, "and what is the name given to our town's new guardian?" She asked, poking a minute amount of fun at the man with a newfound optimism.

"Ash"

"Well Ash, what's your next move?" Kasumi asked with slightly morbid curiosity.

"I'm getting the impression that there's nothing to learn in town so I'll survey the surrounding land and seek out travellers nearby in case they've seen anything in the wilderness." He told Kasumi while standing and putting his cloak back on.

"What if there's nothing to be gained from them either?" Kasumi queried regressing back to worry as she thought Ash's plan through.

"Lets hope there is something to be gained," Ash retorted before giving a small formal bow. He leant down to pick up the crossbow that leant against the table and left the inn.

A bitter chill greeted his unshielded face and hands as he stepped outside; the last few weeks were the first of this winter and they had brought some of the harshest conditions in years. He would have to buy a new pair of gloves soon but Ash decided that his pockets and his cloak would suffice for today. Ash's investigation of the surrounding area would have to be swift for fear of a freak snowstorm. The cold was a formidable killer in its own right and certain creatures employed poor visibility as a perfect opportunity to hunt unseen.

Ash strode into the forest at a quick pace, the crisp snow now shone under golden rays of midday sun. Another inch had fallen since the morning and the veil of fog had almost entirely lifted, making for a picturesque view. Although scenic, the land in this direction was unremarkable; it was flat, uninterrupted forest without even so much as a stream. With it being winter, Ash hadn't expected to encounter very many travellers; it took over an hour before he stumbled across the campfire of two journeying scholars. Ash shared their fire for a short while, running through a list of questions that might help him but they were only observing plants and plant-like creatures that strangely thrived in winter and had seen nothing of note. They were of no use at all.

Wandering further north, Ash eventually stopped for a while atop a tall cliff overlooking most of the Cerulean Bay expanse. From there, he could appreciate just how far the bay penetrated inland. The gravity of his task had set in during his exploration, he had almost nothing to go on and the creature would likely strike again soon. The vast majority of horrors Ash faced were little but animals responsible for savage maulings. They usually had a nest close to where the attacks were occurring, which Ash would seek out. But every once in a while Ash hunted truly intelligent nightmares and more often than he would like, found himself hunted in return.

* * *

In the south-eastern corner of the Kanto, a younger and much more naïve Ash had investigated stories of men being viciously murdered in the dead of night; survivors of the attacks were rare but they each swore that they had been set upon by perfect duplicates of themselves. This was the first time that Ash had sought to engage the darker side of nature and part of him didn't want to find something responsible for the slayings. It took over a fortnight of near-constant searching before Ash was staring into the eyes of the phantom killer, staring into his own eyes. Ash hadn't even been successfully located the fiend himself, alone searching grassy plains Ash became aware that he was being pursued. The sinister stalker that he laid eyes on did not hesitate to attack once discovered. The reflection possessed Ash's athleticism and combat prowess, making for a formidable opponent in a brutal fight but it lacked Ash's weaponry and he was narrowly able to triumph. After the seemingly fatal blow was struck, the strange being fell apart into viscous sludge of a dull pink, which struggled to ooze and flop around. A fascinated Ash studied the slime for a short while until he beheld two dark, miniscule eyes staring back at him, at which point he promptly destroyed it with neutralising powders that petrified it forever.

It was barely two months later when Ash investigated a grotesque creature, which terrorized a small town in the south by capturing those that ventured too far into its wilderness domain within invisible walls. Described as a terrifying abomination by survivors and being proven to have killed nearly a dozen, the thing was worse than a typical predator. It was said to have carried more sadistic desires than simple predatory instincts; it supposedly seemed to enjoy toying with its prey, which ultimately lead to the escape of would-be victims. The freak wasn't particularly difficult to hunt, Ash found it near the area where the attacks took place. Human remains were still strewn around, trapped within transparent barriers that required forceful blows to shatter. The creature vaguely resembled a man but was misshapen and hunched over. It had a deathly pale complexion and stood at barely four feet tall. Even from afar Ash could make out its bloated face, stained fangs and the twin wisps of dark, matted hair atop its head. Ash managed to lure the thing out and grievously injure it but the wounded monster bounded away into the trees. It took a further day of tracking before the monstrosity attempted to ambush Ash and gave him the chance to finally vanquished it once and for all.

Perhaps the most dangerous situation Ash had ever had found himself in was in the clutches of the wailing woman of the Seafoam Islands. Sailors had long told tales of a beautiful woman's crying leading men to their dooms in the waters that run between the Seafoam Islands near Cinnabar. He had lied to a small boat crew with promises of treasures well worth the danger to foolishly seek out the woman's song. The small boat set sail toward the icy southern waters surrounding the Seafoam Islands. An eerie mist illuminated by moonlight quickly fell upon them moments before they first heard the woman's awful song. From that moment they were hers, totally spellbound; the rowers instinctively rowed towards her.

Upon reaching the frozen land she inhabited, the men marched slowly in a grim procession towards the woman with Ash at the rear. He tried desperately to free himself from her control as they wandered toward scattered ice sculptures but it was to no avail, his body was no longer his own. From afar the sculptures looked beautiful, they were distinct silhouettes of men standing tall against the starry sky. But as the march passed among the statues, the men saw the sculptures for what they were. Dead sailors stood frozen upright with their chests ripped wide-open, their expressions were perfect displays of fear and agony. Ash started making his peace, believing that his death was imminent and surely unavoidable as the first crew member approached a dark figure. Far past the macabre statues, she was waiting for them.

The wailing woman barely resembled a woman at all; she stood on two legs and with human proportions but there was no humanity there. Her features were all wrong; her expressionless face bore no nose, only two disgusting slits where one might once have sat. Her long hair was of a ghostly white and it danced an eery waltz in the bitter wind. Pitch black frostbitten skin sat loosely around her unsightly, bloated figure beneath a tattered relic of a dark red gown.

Ash watched as the first sailor shuffled reluctantly towards the awaiting demon amid a chilling soundtrack of howling wind and the erratic beating of his frenzied heart. Her eyes were glowing a fierce blue as she glided the short remaining distance to the seaman, her ruined garment only just flowing over the ground below. The blue fire in her eyes dimmed as she leaned over the helpless man and seized him in a vile kiss. Her jaw opened to an unnatural width and engulfed the man's entire lower face. Ash and the other horrified sailors were frozen in place watching their doom unfold before them.

The sinister being reared her terrible black hand back and shot it forward deep into her victim's chest. The two paused in this horrible embrace for a brief instance, fixed in the ethereal moonlight before she tore her hand from him in a spray of crimson. The woman didn't let him fall, no sooner than her horribly stretched mouth released the sailor's face it unleashed an arctic wind upon him. He was another icy statue in her gruesome gallery before his warm heart had fallen to the ground. Before Ash had a chance to digest the gruesome scene that had unfolded before him, the woman's eyes lit up with an intense energy once more. She glided along the ice toward the next sailor standing among the petrified dead that he was soon to join. As her jaw elongated once more and the grim process repeated itself Ash forced his eyes tightly shut and tried to distance himself from his impending doom. At least ten seconds must have passed before Ash had realised that he had actually been able to close his eyes. He had a small amount of control over his body while the woman's attention was focused solely on her current victim.

Before Ash could test his theory, the next sailor had been petrified and another heart lay steaming gently on the ice and snow that drank deeply from it, becoming stained in a matching deep red. The demon was soon upon its next victim and Ash mustered all of his strength to reach something from his belt that might save his life. His arms were nearly immovable, weighing many times what they should but he refused to give up. Ash's hand was painfully close to his salvation before he became powerless once more. The woman floated over the ice to the final sailor that stood between him and her, eyes ablaze. Ash knew he had made a terrible, fatal mistake by coming here.

As the wretch craned over the last of the terrified seamen for her kiss of death, Ash put everything he had into trying to grasp the small vial at his waist. Ash had never faced physical exertion on such an unforgiving scale; his muscles were burning just to move the final inch. His blood surged through his veins like acid and his nerves screamed as his fingers finally brushed against the vial. There was a sickening sound of snapping ribs when the foul woman tore out yet another heart as Ash's fingers finally began to curl around the vial. He saw the heart weakly beat one last time before it fell as he lost what little control he had. He was completely paralysed once more as the monster glided toward him. His hand was at his waist wrapped around the vial, which was barely freed from his belt. The seconds felt like hours as she approached. Fine details in her horribly cracked black skin became clear as she drew near, her eyes burned like two blue stars and Ash was powerless to look away.

The demon was before him now, dominating his vision as she sank from the air back to the ice. The blue fire in her eyes began to extinguish and Ash recognised his last chance. He had originally hoped to muster the strength to throw the vial from afar when he first conceived the idea to reach for it; despite quickly realising that act would be impossible he had persisted in his efforts. As Ash stared into the growing void that was the wailing woman's mouth, he desperately tried to release his grip on the vial. Effort was sheer agony, Ash felt as though his fingers were breaking under the strain.

The woman's horrible maw was upon his face as the vial finally began falling to the ice below. Ash couldn't breathe, a strange feeling washed over him and he felt himself slipping away. If the wretch's approach had felt like hours, then Ash had spent years bathed in the warmth of his impending doom. There was no use in fighting the battles he fought; he was infinitely insignificant and after years of subjecting himself to endless torment for others he had earned peace at last. As Ash started to let go and allowed himself to embrace death's radiance, he felt it. It was a tingling sensation, initially so light and almost pleasant but it had began to intensify. Soon there was a storm brewing in his nerves, what began as a strange sensation grew more and more into sheer anguish.

He was ripped at last from his trance-like state and sent screaming back to reality. His vial had shattered on the ice and released a flash flood of fire, which washed over his boots and the monster's tattered garment. Ash saw the flames licking at his legs in slow motion as his senses snapped back into focus, the fire climbed quickly up the monster's gown like an inverted waterfall but she didn't relinquish her victim. Her unsightly form was soon completely engulfed as she raised her arm and reared back her hand to claim another life before the pain of the inferno overwhelmed her.

Then all at once, the agony broke her. Ash was thrown backwards violently, landing excruciatingly on his crossbow as the woman erupted with a shriek that made Ash writhe on the ice. He knew only pain. The horrible wailing noise felt as though it was boring a deep fissure into his head, his vision was scorched from staring into the demon's eyes and the skin of his lower legs had been burned from the fire that had risen above his boots. Ash's involuntary writhing on the frozen tundra was helping to soothe the burns he had sustained but even as the wailing began to subside he speculated that he was far from safe.

His fears were confirmed when instead of collapsing, the hideous woman turned to face him. She was still wearing a shroud of fire but it was dying down. A terrible smell reminiscent of disease assaulted Ash's nostrils preceding the creature's advance, the harbinger of a grisly end. She no longer glided ominously over the expanse towards him, instead she strode on badly burned legs. The pains that stabbed at Ash's every sense were barely subsiding but he was running out of time. He desperately fumbled onto his side and reached back to retrieve his crossbow.

As the wretched demon closed the distance between them wearing a visage of fury, Ash clawed at his weapon to save himself. He clasped the powerful crossbow firmly and slid it round to his front. Recognising the injured young man's efforts were a threat, the woman broke into a bound. Ash didn't let her pounce, her form shook with the bolt's impact and she fell forward carried by her frenzied inertia landing with a heavy impact. A welcome silence filled the air, Ash had hit her in the centre of the chest. He knew she was vanquished but didn't grant himself the rest he yearned for. Fearing that the cold would take him, instead he clambered to his feet and made for the boat after taking a second to observe her smoldering corpse.

* * *

Standing atop the cliff overlooking the Cerulean Bay, the hiss of the wind and the sensation of snow landing in his dark hair forced Ash to cease reliving dark memories. The cold and snow were hallmarks of the darkest chapters in Ash's life and when the winds of winter washed over him Ash couldn't help but be reminded of the times he had been lost in the cold terrified. When Ash had clung to life fiercely rowing back from the Seafoam Islands he shook the entire way from the cold and the sheer shock of the ordeal as it set in. The wailing woman was one of the larger droplets in the ocean of experiences that constituted Ash but it could never be the largest. Winter was once again prepared to greet Ash now, as it did at sea, as it did when he was a child.

A celebration of life that became an unprecedented spectacle of death; the disastrous event that set him on the path he was to walk ever since was hauntingly accompanied by the first snow of the year. Only a boy, the young Ash had fled aimlessly into the snow, alone and lost in every sense. Now the snow was only a distraction to him, he had purpose and he had direction. Ash had known that the caress of the cold was the icy stare of Death, he recalled cursing the snow as a lost orphaned child and cursing the gale lost at sea. Now he welcomed Death's company for as long as it was content to simply watch him from a distance.

It was time for Ash to make his way back to the city, the light snow could rapidly develop into a blizzard and it would be getting dark soon; his investigation was done for the day. Ash took a last look at the view before heading directly for civilisation, orange and blue clashed for dominance in the sky as the sun fell but they would both be replaced with black soon. The monster hunter regretted that he was not able to learn more about the creature he sought. If he wasn't able to find a solid lead in the next few days his only option may be to forgo sleep during as many nights as possible to hopefully catch the monster in the midst of an abduction. Ash was proven right to retreat as he neared the city, the snowfall grew steadily heavier and the wind intensified; it pushed against him as he strove for the warmth of the inn where he could gather his thoughts for tomorrow and try to forget that Death was always watching, always waiting.


	2. Lullaby - Part 2

Lullaby – Part 2

The trek through the harsh winter winds had left a deep chill within Ash by the time he approached Cerulean City. He could hear the merriment of drunk patrons when he neared the inn and greatly looked forward to shedding the cold that clung to him. The warm privacy of his room would offer a suitable environment to meditate on the city's plight. He didn't recognise the older man who was tending to the patrons when he entered; Ash had hoped that he might be able to avoid Kasumi prying into his lack of progress until her high, expectant voiced cried out from a table on the other side of the large open room.

"Ash!" she called as she rose to meet him.

His reply in the form of a single nod failed to satisfy her as he strode on towards the stairs leading to the rented rooms. Kasumi clumsily dashed to catch up with the man from out-of-town, nearly tripping over her stool in her hurry.

"Did you find any traces of whatever it is Ash?" she asked enthusiastically, praying for good news.

"Unfortunately the snow meant I couldn't cover as much ground as I would have liked to." Ash replied honestly, seeing her wide-eyed anticipation wane.

Kasumi's gaze fell from Ash's face to the floor and finally back to where she had sat. Her hands fidgeted with one another nervously as she looked back, focused singularly on a young teenage girl with similarly dark orange tinged hair. There was no doubt that this was her daughter, Misty.

"I'm sorry I don't have any better news but this is only the beginning. I will vanquish the fiend but to do so will take a composed mind." Ash told Kasumi softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And it will take patience."

"I can't lose her, Ash. I can't lose Misty…" Kasumi choked out, quietly on the verge of weeping.

"I won't let that happen, this will all end well. We may even see the monster held at bay by winter." Ash consoled. "Shed your concerns and go to her."

Kasumi thanked Ash with a nod of reaffirmation, she formally bowed and went back to rejoin her daughter. Ash dearly hoped that his reassurance would come to pass, that the town would get a respite from the fiend's evil but he couldn't count on it. He entered his room intent on mediating and reviewing the day. There was little to consider with regards to his grim task in these early stages but Ash sat and thought at great length about the dark memories that had come bubbling to the surface earlier that day.

He recognised the importance of reflecting on the past but preferred to set his full attention toward the present. The small clutch of memories that were normally deeply buried cut Ash deeper than any blade ever could; they had caught him off-guard with their reappearance that afternoon. His condition was of no importance to anyone else but Ash would still rather not display any hints of vulnerability. He believed that doing so would detriment him at a critical moment and never yearned to search for any deeper reasons.

He reached into a pouch at his belt for a small handful of seeds that alleviated anxiety and thought towards dinner. Ash was planning on eating earlier than usual to alleviate the uncomfortable digestion that typically accompanies the seeds. He paused at the idea of dining within the walls of the inn; he doubted that Kasumi would bother him after telling her to be patient but he did not want her eyes to linger upon him as he ate; such attention would surely be equally uncomfortable. He decided that a change of scenery would help to clear his head.

Ash slunk out subtly and ate at a cheap tavern favoured by fishermen judging by the banter, and the smell. He remained there until the sun had long set and listened to boasts of impressive hauls and exaggerated sightings of large sea creatures that grew more and more outlandish with every drink the men had. They spoke of fantastic pearls guarded by living shells and of legendary sea serpents that devoured entire ships.

Ash eventually grew tired of the company and returned to his room at the inn, eluding Kasumi as she busied herself served the remaining patrons that stubbornly drank into the dead of night. Although he functioned on a minimal amount of sleep Ash was cautious to give himself a wide window in which to obtain it, trying to cautiously skirt the line between rest and sleep for as long as possible. Inevitably Ash drifted from the waking world into a far worse one.

* * *

Although he couldn't be physically hurt by what he saw in his dreams, he always felt deeply exposed. Over the years Ash had grown to expect this torment when sleeping. Consciousness was his only salvation but now more than ever the brutal flashbacks were bleeding through the divide and invading his waking mind. Only the worst of them was still completely confined to the realm of nightmares. And in his nightmares it came to him.

He was a lost child again, running through inhospitable land. Hard ground dusted with light snow met his frantic feet as he dashed forward, not daring to look back. His mind was racing with the exhumed sense of loss, once again as familiar as the air he breathed. The chase was all he knew and to look back was to forfeit. Death was behind him, he could feel its putrid breath run over the back of his neck. A blood-curdling scream shot out across the land, then silence. Frantic yelling coloured the air with urgency, this wasn't a part of the nightmare that Ash knew so well, this was a different sound of distress altogether.

He sat sharply up in his bed, gaining his focus. A woman's voice screamed nonsensical woe throughout the inn. Only being naked from the waist up, Ash reached for his belt and felt for the distinct shape of a familiar vial in particular. One drop of the vial's contents onto the wick of the candle at his bedside agitated by just a flick of his index finger saw the candle lit and the room illuminated. The woman's shouting was quieter now, joined by others attempting to console the panicked voice, Kasumi's voice.

Quickly getting dressed and opening the door to the distress in the corridor, Ash beheld Kasumi and two patrons flanking her. Kasumi's chaotic state was the epicentre of the tense atmosphere, confusion hung in the air as the man and woman at Kasumi's side attempted to make sense of what had made her so hysterical. She ceased her aimless pacing when her eyes locked on Ash.

"You! You were supposed to protect her!" she screamed, her rage was now given direction.

"What's happened?" Ash inquired, extending a hand toward Kasumi as she approached with a look of hatred, only to have it swatted away.

"Misty! She isn't in bed, I can't find her!" Kasumi answered as she pointed towards a staircase with a fury that was not subsiding.

"That's impossible, I would have heard if…" Ash said, trailing off as he rushed past Kasumi up the stairs she motioned toward. The ajar door read "_Misty,_" Ash entered, the girl was indeed gone, her bedding was a mess but there were no signs of a struggle. Ash stared out of window into the night.

"Kasumi!" He yelled.

A string of heavy footsteps banged on the stairs behind Ash before Kasumi was at his side.

"Look there," he instructed, pointing to the small figure looking extremely out of place walking the empty streets in pajamas amid the light snowfall.

Kasumi didn't reply to Ash, she just banged on the glass and started screaming "Misty!"

The third time Kasumi called her daughter's name, the girl's head slowly twisted to glance back at her mother. Misty stared back vacantly; it felt like an eternity for Kasumi before Misty bolted into a sprint without warning. Kasumi was dumbstruck, she tensed for a second before turning and running down the stairs. Ash saw how fast Misty was going, he'd lose her if he ran back through the inn. Instinctively, he kicked out the glass, sending shards raining down onto the section of rooftop below. He dived through the remains of the window onto the lower rooftops before climbing down to street level.

Ash burst into a sprint of his own to intercept the girl but she continued fleeing at a speed no child should ever have been able to muster. Ash kept up well enough as she darted into tight alleys and bounded over obstacles with ease but he couldn't match her. The distance between them was growing as Ash failed to perfectly emulate her feats of unnatural athleticism but he kept the young girl in sight. Ash kept up the pursuit until he was completely spent, gasping for breath on the outskirts of the city. His leg muscles cramped, they were bathed in acid and his heart was pounding out of his chest. Misty's inhuman pace hadn't faltered one bit and she ran off into the night.

Ash's mind raced as he walked back to the inn defeated. He ignored the aches in his legs that begged him to rest as he attempted to digest what he had seen; he was in peak physical condition, no child could best him so completely and what had even instigated the girl's fleeing in the first place? Was she possessed?

Kasumi was in the street by the inn upon Ash's return, she was even more unhinged than before, Ash hadn't thought it possible. Her emotions were no longer being channelled into aggression towards Ash despite him coming back alone. She was aimless sorrow; raw anguish given human form.

"I'm going to get her back." Ash said with a quiet intensity, making the only eye contact he planned to for this brief conversation as he strode past Kasumi into the inn.

"But you're going the wrong way! You're going to lose her!" She shouted before rushing to keep up with him.

Ash didn't reply as he ascended the stairs and walked down the corridor to his room. Kasumi ran ahead of him as he entered the room, desperate to gain insight into his motivations even if only from his expression. She was bewildered as to why he wasn't pursuing her daughter at that very moment and agitated even further by his lack of words.

"This is it," Ash said, breaking the heavy silence between them. "It's struck again, I think it may have control over your daughter. I came back because I need this." He added while picking up his crossbow and loading a long dark bolt into its flight groove.

"I'm not going to lose her, I know her direction and I'm a very capable tracker. A fresh set of footprints in the newly fallen snow will be easy to follow and she must have cut her foot running, I saw the blood on my way back, nearly impossible to lose." Ash explained as he manoeuvred around Kasumi and left the room.

"You assume she'll lead you straight to the creature? And then you'll kill it? That's what _that_ is for?" Kasumi asked, looking to the crossbow and praying she was right about each assumption.

Ash gave her a serious look and nodded as he walked out into the night.

"Bring her back safe Ash. You promised." Kasumi said anxiously.

"I will." Ash assured her, remembering that he had made no such promise.

And now such a promise was impossible to make; if Misty maintained the furious pace she had set when she had eluded Ash then the poor girl would be in the clutches of the monster long before he could intervene. There was also the off-chance that there was no monstrous puppet-master. Misty's inhuman ability may have been the result of her being exactly that, inhuman. It was a farfetched theory but after catching a glimpse of what he faced, Ash didn't know what to make of it and he wasn't going to rule anything out.

Ash jogged back to where he had lost track of the girl not far from the city's edge. The moon was half full and shone on the newly fallen snow, even without the spattering of crimson blood upon it, the tracks were easy to follow. Out of habit Ash put himself on the opposite side of the tracks to the moon in order to better see the shadowing in the prints that Misty's bare feet had left.

The shorter striding distances he soon came across thankfully indicated that Misty had reverted to walking again shortly after Ash had abandoned his pursuit. She was walking before she was spotted outside the inn, the running must have purely been a response to her discovery. This was welcome news, Ash might just have chance to intervene after all. He followed her tracks to the northwest for a little under an hour. He jogged most of the way to regain lost time even at the risk of losing the trail as the blood drops ceased. He didn't have any idea how far the trail would go on for and needed to conserve as much energy as possible.

The trail led Ash to the western-most stretch of the Cerulean Sea and ended abruptly at the edge of an eighty-foot cliff, he wasn't far from where he had journeyed to the day before. He stared over the edge into the dark sea that lapped below like a gently tipped inkwell. There wasn't much to behold, the moon's light didn't fall on the precipice, it appeared dark and unknowable. Ash felt strange as he stood atop the cliffs; heights didn't worry him, the feeling was almost like the deliria of an insomniac. Ash knew that although his dreams were restless that night, he had acquired more than enough sleep to function. He associated the feeling with not being prepared for such exertion on short notice.

The area lay between the city and the other towns that had also lost children; Ash thought that it was too perfect to be a coincidence. He took off his winter cloak and left it on the pure snow atop the cliffs, Misty had either climbed down or dove from this cliff in order to reach her destination and Ash would have to follow. The only options afforded to him were climbing and diving. Ash couldn't even attempt the former; the lack of light and treacherous near-vertical surface made a climb down impossible.

Ash made his way to an overhanging portion of the cliff granting him a fall that was clear of perilous rocks hidden at the cliff's base. Ash exhaled as he stepped from the edge, plummeting straight down into the abyss. Ash met the dark, icy waters feet first to avoid a jarring impact to his head and neck. The sea immediately bit at his skin with a ferocious chill that he couldn't ignore but if anything it just helped to wake him up. He absolutely had to remain alert, there were many forms of deadly aquatic life even in the shallower waters. But as Ash scanned around him all he beheld were the tiny familiar lights of Chinchou, which glowed a vivid yellow in the deeper waters beneath him.

Surfacing and inhaling deeply, he surveyed the underside of the cliff upon which the girl's trail had ended. Something unusual quickly piqued his interest; a gaping cave cut deep into the face of the rock lay to Ash's left. It was the only feature of note that Ash could identify. He swam straight for the opening, staring into the black void of the cavern and just listened for a short time. There were no ominous sounds besides the babbling seawater inside. Ash didn't like how quiet it all was, it made him feel uneasy, which compounded the strange tiredness that had started to find him again. He brought seawater to his face hoping to recompose himself but it hardly had an effect this time. Ash would have preferred to survey the cave for a lot longer before swimming into the unknown but time was not an asset he or Misty had. He took several deep breaths into his lungs before holding one and submerging.

The small points of light grew larger as he approached the nocturnal Chinchou that dwelled near the seabed. Ash drew his knife as he swam down to one of the luminescent creatures from above. They were curious sea creatures barely bigger than apples, which relied on the glowing lures that sit on the end of their long antennae to draw prey to them. They used discharges not dissimilar to lightning to stun their prey and ward off larger predators. Though effective predators in their own right, Chinchou were not fast and even when the one before Ash caught sight of him, it didn't even attempt to escape. It instinctively flailed its two antennae defensively as Ash brought his knife to bear, impaling it. Not yet dead, the angling fish desperately jabbed its antennae at the blade. It caused intense spasms in Ash's hand but all it did was tighten his grip on the hilt and he swam upwards to the surface as the painful sensation subsided while the creature died.

Raising his hand out of the water, Ash looked at that the strange dead fish and observed its limp antennae begin to glow many times brighter than they had when it was alive. Fishermen first noticed this post-mortem reaction in Chinchou caught by deep-sea fishing nets and concluded that it must serve to warn other Chinchou of a predator in the area. Ash had only ever used one as a makeshift torch once before, it had served him well but only for a short time, he'd have to be swift or risk being left stranded in the dark.

Wasting no time, Ash swam into the cave as quickly as he could, the wide opening tightened as he followed the lone passage to a dead end. He dived again under the water's surface and held the Chinchou's corpse in front of him as he swam deeper. Ash searched every direction in the inky blackness until the antennae's light fell upon an underwater opening in a low section of the cavern's wall.

Ash pulled himself through the hole and prepared himself for whatever he might face when he emerged. Without hesitation, he swam up to break the water's surface and quickly scanned every which way with the light of the dead angling fish but found only damp rock bearing eerily beautiful stalactites.

The chamber Ash found himself in was vast; the sounds of babbling were muted here, replaced only with the echoes of dripping water. The way the bright yellow glow fell on the damp walls was surreal. The dreamscape-like environment weighed heavily on Ash, who felt himself starting to drift in and out of consciousness as he treaded water. He had to slap himself to regain his control. He didn't care if the noise alerted the resident of the cave to his presence, he and Misty would both perish here if he fell asleep.

The weary man pulled himself out of the water and onto the cavern banks. There was no time to waste; Exhaustion clung to Ash like the fabric of his clothes, he was soaked to the bone and freezing. Ash slid the Chinchou off of the blade and severed its antennae to regain the use of his knife. Despite the size of the chamber, there was only one direction yielding a passageway. Ash hurried down the dark tunnel, holding up the still brilliantly radiating antennae like he would hold a lantern.

The passageway continued on with very few twists and turns although Ash had to duck under sections with an especially low ceiling. Sharp crunching noises informed Ash he was close to the monster he sought; they were the sounds of small bones underfoot. He confirmed what his ears knew by looking down and beholding the remains. Immense relief washed over him to see only the bones of small animals beneath his boots.

Ash crept onward, trying to avoid the bones where possible but they were plentiful and cracked loudly with the slightest pressure. He stopped dead still. There was movement ahead, the same snapping and rattling sounds. Ash quietly laid his gruesome torches down on the damp floor of the cave. A small spark crackled from the antennae tips contacting a puddle as Ash proceeded to creep forward. He could hear the source of the sound that he stalked, now only metres away, every accidental snap under foot caused his heart to stop. He only resumed sneaking after listening to the sounds ahead continue undisturbed for at least five seconds, implying he remained undiscovered.

At a divergence in the tunnel just around the corner from the noises, Ash knelt and pressed himself tightly against the cave wall. The sounds were right around the corner in the left hand side tunnel. He listened to the crunching of bones and the dripping of water, they were joined by new disturbing instruments in the eerie symphony. Muffled, horribly congested breathing echoed out occasionally interrupted by animalistic snorts. Ash felt himself slipping below the weight of his tiredness again but he recognised the mortal danger he was in. He steeled himself, drew his crossbow and darted forward with all his resolve.

His eyes fell upon them but it was hard to make out the finer details with the small amount of yellow light that reached the things. They were like huge, misshapen babies; dark mucus coated their swollen, pale flesh. The faces of the creatures looked vaguely human but each bore a flapping trunk that writhed like a tentacle with a mind of its own. The seven of them were feeling around the floor with their strange appendages. The creatures were in a shallow dish-like erosion in the ground. Among them were larger bones, the bones of young humans. Ash could have believed that the bones belonged to creatures like these if it wasn't for the scraps of shredded, bloody clothing strewn about. They didn't appear to pose a threat to Ash, most hadn't noticed him bursting in. One was clearly staring right at the intruder but simply did not acknowledge him. Ash didn't know what to make of any of it. He didn't take his eyes off of the thing until it went back to poking around with the rest.

Ash gradually lowered the crossbow he had trained on the being and backtracked towards the Chinchou antennae, trying to decide how to proceed. He had to make up his mind quickly but the best course of action was unclear to him. The little beasts had a bizarre obliviousness, they didn't seem aggressive in the slightest. However physical threats were not the only danger, they might be more sinister than they appeared. Searching further into the cave was an option, but the idea of leaving those things between him and the exit while he explored made Ash uneasy. He felt his latter thoughts begin to degrade more and more into nonsense, he had to act before tiredness overwhelmed him entirely, the curious animals had to die.

Ash reached for one of the antennae, leaving its twin as a beacon to return to after further exploration of the cave. He gathered his remaining fortitude and marched back towards the things, once more he locked his sights on the nearest. It looked to be the plumpest of them all and moved with great difficulty. It was splayed out on its hard belly and its limbs scarcely touched the floor. Ash didn't intend to use his crossbow if it could be avoided, only targeting it until he was closer in case it could sense his intent and responded in kind.

But as soon as Ash stepped out of the tunnel into the wide chamber the creatures inhabited his heart skipped a beat. The creatures were not alone anymore, a skinny young redhead was walking towards their bowl-like pit. Ash could see the side of her face from where he stood frozen in the entrance. It was Misty, alive and in one piece. She moved sluggishly as she stared upwards towards stalactites, an utterly vacant expression adorning her face. Her skinny build looked so fragile compared to the horrible proportions of the things she approached. Ash couldn't let her reach them.

Without saying a word Ash approached her, cautiously determined to bring her to her senses and leave the cave as soon as possible. But he only managed a handful of steps before he caught sight of it, the hidden puppet master, the monster. The shadowy figure was scarcely touched by the yellow radiance that had subtly crept into its lair. It was totally unlike the things in the pit, something else entirely.

In the meagre light, its pale skin appeared a sickly yellow like that of the other creatures. It was nearly as hairless as they were, distinguished only by the mane of thick silver hair around its neck. The flesh tone was the only similarity between them though; where they were bloated, this creature was disgustingly bony with a rib cage that protruded out of it chest. Where they had strange trunks for faces, it had the basic structure of an angular human face. Its eyes were the shape of a man's but its long, slightly hooked nose was too exaggerated to be found on the face of a man and its thin, pointed ears stood like the silhouettes of two stalagmites. Its gaunt frame was supported by legs that were somewhere between a quadrupedal animal's and a human's, they ended with hoof-like feet bearing two distinct claws

It stood as tall as Ash and its slender frame possessed human proportions save for the hideously long arms. Bony fingers at the end of the long arms ended in clawed fingertips that pinched a swaying pendulum. Though it seemed to merely be a ring of metal on the end of a thread so fine that it could barely even be seen in the low light, the more Ash stared at the trinket, the more he saw that it swung as powerfully as a boulder. The creature's eyes were lit with the same azure glow that he had first seen in the Seafoam islands. These eyes were not quite so bright as the wailing woman's but Ash had no doubt that the creature was unpredictably powerful and likely channelling its power through the pendulum.

Ash was taking no chances with a telepathic monster. He catapulted the glowing antenna at the monster's face with such force that the distraction was almost an attack of its own. The creature was reeling from the impact when the bolt came flying out of the blue to plunge itself deep into its chest. Ash had hoped one bolt would have sufficed but the slender monster was flailing on the floor wildly after being taken off its feet by the projectile's force. Though still dazed from the antenna it must have known that it was badly hurt. Ash wanted to run over to help Misty who had fallen onto her side several feet short of the dish but he had to finish off her captor first.

Ash had his boot on his weapon's cocking stirrup and was midway through drawing back the string when the creature rose. It was a horrifying silhouette against the intense yellow light of the antenna on the floor. Ash couldn't believe it; he saw the blood streaming from its wound, it was a thick black river running over yellow. But despite the deep wound it had struggled to stand upright as Ash locked the string back into place and drew another bolt. The monster had regained its balance as Ash fired again, aiming to put it down once and for all.

The bolt travelled straight and true but when the blue glow returned to the monster's eyes it stopped dead. The projectile stood frozen in place in front of the fiend's face, its tip nearly touched that of the pointed nose like a metal reflection. The monster observed the bolt briefly before permitting it to fall and land with a clatter on the floor. Ash instinctively lowered his weapon to reload again but the creature was darting towards him. It zigzagged erratically to avoid the next bolt, which Ash didn't even have time to load. Jumping onto the rocky wall and launching itself at Ash like a furious animal, the creature gave him little choice but to abandon his weapon and dive away.

Ash sprang to his feet after rolling, he turned back to face the creature but didn't expect it to be so close. He only just managed to duck under the clawed hand as it swept for his throat. The range granted to the monster by its arms put Ash at a severe disadvantage. It pushed Ash onto the defensive as it raked at him with a barrage of slashes. Ash fell back just out of its reach until he had an opening to get past the claws and close down the gap between them. This time when the fiend brought its clawed hand to bear Ash struck first, he delivered a quick strike to the area below the embedded crossbow bolt. As the blow elicited a splash of blood it was quickly followed up with Ash bringing his forehead crashing down on the beak-like nose. The monster gave an inhuman shriek that sang out over the crunch but Ash could feel no mercy for it and drove a powerful kick into its lower torso.

The gaunt wretch was sent tumbling backwards as it failed to keep its balance. It fell to its knees and gave out a series of panicked cries. Ash drew his knife and cautiously approached. He expected a lot less of a fight this time, the monster was on its knees and elbows, shaking as it tried to support itself. Ash held the blade before him and watched for any sudden movements. It was aware of his approach and slowly raised a hand as if to beg for mercy when Ash was upon it. He stood poised to deliver the killing blow, his knife shimmering like a blade of gold in the Chinchou light.

Then Ash finally saw it, the threat dangling from in-between those clawed fingers on the outstretched hand, the pendulum. It was swinging just for him. Time was static; only the pendulum was moving. Ash felt wave after wave of exhaustion crash into him, trying to lull him into falling asleep. Just being near this thing was responsible for how tired he was feeling earlier but now it was so much more intense. Ash couldn't take his eyes of the metal ring on the thread, it was beautiful, he studied it intently. It looked ancient, a tarnished ring of copper swinging back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth. It was the most elegant thing he had ever seen but he worried that he wouldn't be able to behold its wonder for much longer, every swing felt like another hour had passed. It weighed heavily on the already exhausted man. His sleep debt was growing more and more cumbersome, he couldn't bear it; his body yearned to lie down and his eyelids could scarcely support themselves.

Ash vaguely recalled that the pendulum was linked to his fatigue but he just let it happen. The pendulum was splendour itself, when it caught the light at the top of its swings it shone like the sun. He felt the bliss he had resisted for so long begin to set in as he started drifting, the bliss of rest. Why had he been resisting this? Had he wanted to punish himself for hurting the dream weaver? His eyes were half closed but they endeavoured to follow the sun as it rose to the east and shone. Then it was shining in the west, Ash let the yellow star show him the way.

Ash was so close to peace, so close to rest, but something was out of place. Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong. The sun had a rival, a second yellow beacon shone to his right; it didn't rise and fall like a true sun, it stayed perfectly still. What was the impostor sun? It taunted Ash and divided his intention from its beautiful twin. The false sun was on top of something, it was lying on a bed of metal. A bed of sharp metal, metal with a purpose, a deadly purpose. It was his knife, Ash recalled needing to slay a monster but it didn't matter now, he started to fall. He was falling down, falling asleep. He didn't have long, he lashed out with the knife as he went down and one sun found another.

Ash felt the impact of the damp cave floor, he heard himself collapsing with a splash and the cold metallic clatter of his knife. A lighter piece of metal hit the floor a second later, it was further away. Ash was stunned from the fall but only for a second; he tensed like a startled sleeper and shot to his feet. A shimmering by a far stalagmite told Ash that he had severed the pendulum's thread as he fell, presumably saving his life.

He could feel his burden lighten as the cloak of exhaustion fell, Ash had almost forgotten just how aware he had felt before he ventured into the lair. A short trail of blood led Ash's gaze to the defeated monster. It was crawling towards Misty with an urgency that almost looked as though it could be trying to protect her. Whatever its sinister motivations were, they ended here. Ash threw the knife and it landed deep in the creature's upper back. There was no shriek this time, the wretch just collapsed flat on its face.

Ash walked up to the corpse and took a knee. He twisted the knife a quarter turn before sliding it out and wiping it off in the monster's silvery mane. Ash directed his intention toward the oblivious bloated creatures in the pit in case they became hostile. They seemed just as content as ever to simply wallow around miserably. Ash retrieved his crossbow and inserted a fresh bolt into the flight groove. The clumsy stirrings of the trunk-faced creatures were the only sounds in the cave until something closer grabbed Ash's full attention. It was Misty, awake and disorientated. Ash silently wished for her to have made a full recovery as she looked around frantically, breathing fast, panicked breaths.

He rushed over to the girl, she was as soaked as he was from the swim into the cave. Ash would need to get her out of here as soon as possible. He could give her his cloak once he got them back to the top of the cliffs, that ought to warm her up somewhat. Misty was shivering and clearly terrified of the creatures in the pit before her.

"Don't look," Ash advised her, but she kept looking. "Look at me instead, just focus on me."

Misty pulled her eyes from the grotesque creatures and turned towards Ash. He was bruised and bloodied but he made for a better sight than the things in the pit or the corpse behind him.

"I saw you back home." She choked out. "in the inn."

"I'm surprised you remember me." He replied supposing that he didn't exactly look like an ordinary citizen.

Misty nodded. "And you were in my dream running after me."

Ash was taken aback, he hadn't expected her to be conscious of the recent events. "What else do you remember from your dream?"

Misty looked up at him with wide blue eyes as she thought back. "Not much, I was running away from home and you were chasing after me and then I was here."

"Well we've got to get you home now, it's not safe here." Ash told her softly, it wasn't his place to decide whether or not she should know everything that had transpired if she didn't already. Getting her home was the priority.

Ash helped Misty to her feet and directed her towards the tunnel leading out, guiding her eyes away from the pit and the corpse of her kidnapper.

She pulled on his sleeve with a certain shy reluctance. "Is _he_ gone?"

"Yes." Ash told her, "He's gone."

Ash recalled the wound she had sustained while fleeing the city. He had nothing to bandage her foot with him but the salt water would help to clean it. He helped her to the antennae that he'd left behind in the tunnel and put her down beside it. He told her to wait just one moment while he was gone. She nodded and studied the Chinchou antenna beside her as Ash walked back into the chamber; he couldn't help but commend her bravery.

Ash rolled the corpse of the slain fiend into the pit and took out a vial from his belt. He threw the glass into the centre of the creatures. He could hear the roar of the flames as they washed over the things but they themselves made no noise as they were consumed.

Ash was there to help Misty every step of the way; he wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of getting her back to the safety of Cerulean City. He reassured and guided her through the freezing waters that led back out of the cave and carried her to the cliff tops once they were back on dry land. Ash gave Misty his woollen cloak to wrap up in once he retrieved it from the cliff tops and they were fortunate enough to not be challenged by any wind as they trekked. The half-moon led the way as Ash carried the orange haired girl.

She had fallen asleep before they were even half way there. Ash gently laid her on the ground, he had to rest for a few minutes to regain strength for the final leg of the walk. Light snow glistened in the silver light as it fell, making for a picturesque view across the white plains. Ash took the opportunity to inspect his injuries but they were all superficial. He contemplated the past day, he thought of the horror and how he had cheated Death once again, he held back a chuckle to avoid waking Misty and just sat, content to relish the peace that followed the storm.

Kasumi was waiting at the front window of the inn when Ash returned with her daughter, she shot out of view as soon as she saw them and came dashing into the street moments later. Ash could see the uncertainty on her face, she did not know if he brought her a daughter tp put back to bed or to put in the ground. A smile and a nod from Ash confirmed that Misty was alright, Kasumi approached, weeping with joy. She was struggling to contain her relief but couldn't bring herself to wake Misty. The relieved mother simply brushed the snow from Misty's fringe and quietly thanked Ash over and over.

"It's what I do," was all he had to say to her before seeking out the comfort of his bed.

* * *

It didn't surprise Ash that he started drifting off almost immediately after laying his head down. His last waking thoughts revolved around what he had just seen. What were the kidnapper's motivations? What was its relationship to the trunk-faced animals? Ash wondered if it had been feeding children to them or worse, if they used to be the children. Whatever the case, Misty would not be among the lost.

Far too many children were lost in this world, poor young souls touched by the darker side of nature. Some were struck down long before their time, forever gone and some survived and were left changed by their experiences, forever altered. It didn't matter, all were lost. So too was Ash, he was lost, running lost through the town when the snowfall was light and running lost through the forest when it had grown heavier. He would never have gone into the forest alone normally but nothing amongst the bare trees could be worse than what he had already seen. Death was behind him, he didn't dare to look back but he knew; sinister hands were reaching for him. Lavender Town was Death itself. A hand grasped his arm and shook.

The arm was not Death's, it was a woman's. It was still night and Kasumi was standing over Ash's bed with a candle and a cup. She looked down at him with the same motherly serenity that had returned to her when Misty did.

"Sounded like one hell of a nightmare." She said softly.

"It's nothing." Ash immediately lied.

"Well I brought you a remedy for it all the same." She offered him the cup. He knew what the herbal tea was made from before he tasted it. Ash had tried the remedy before, he had tried every supposed remedy there was. None helped.

"Thank you Kasumi."

"It's no trouble to make, the least I could do. I cannot thank you enough, I really can't, I thought I'd never see my little girl again." Kasumi's face was a mixture of sadness and joy, she wiped the two small tears that rolled down her cheek. "I heard you thrashing in your sleep when I went to check on Misty last night so I thought I'd try to help when I heard it again just now."

"They're probably just a side effect of that fiend making is lair so closeby." Ash told her, drinking the tea down, even if it couldn't help at least it was healthy.

"If you say so Ash, you're the expert," Kasumi replied. "But I've been sleeping quite peacefully for the past few weeks." Kasumi looked as though she had more to say but was hesitating to give it voice.

"What is it?" Ash asked, determined to learn what looked to be concerning the woman.

"Well, it's just… the way you responded. I'd say you've been having nightmares for a while now."

_Life is a nightmare_, thought Ash as he reflected on all the things he's seen in his life so far. "You're not wrong Kasumi."

Kasumi was visibly saddened by his response, she didn't want her daughter's saviour to suffer.

"My grandfather used to say that nightmares are rooted in unresolved trauma." She told him, sounding wise despite just spouting spiritual nonsense. "The tea should help Ash, try to get some more rest." She advised tenderly as she retreated to the doorway with her candle, leaving Ash in darkness.

_More rest, that's the last thing I need_. He thought, not wanting to slip into the past again. Inevitably though Ash did fall asleep; fortunately this slumber was a dreamless one. He awoke to a bright new morning, something he never did, he had missed the sunrise for the first time in over a decade. Ash didn't want to think about what that meant.


End file.
